Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Yesterday I had a hot butt... mahola very much! And other experiences of Hawaii...Well, here I am in Hawaii, sitting in a food court (with a Cinnabon Philly), typing away with the world watching. Oh no no no, there is no private booths here.
Well, a little bit of a run down on my experience so far...
We arrived in a dishevelled state. The plane ride over was not pleasant. Very uncomfortable, and not enough wine being served. Silly movies too.
Between the airport and the hotel, I heard the word 'mahola' way too many times. (It means thank you). The bus driver uttered it twice a sentence whilst giving a running commentary on the sights.
However, the Hilton Hawaiian Village is gorgeous!! I love it. I could live here.
We are on the 6th floor of one of the many buildings, and have a view of Waikiki beach, and the hotel pools.
I'll break my thoughts up into categories now:
Cars/DrivingYesterday 4 of us (Robyn, Cathie, Deb & I) hired a car to take us out and about to shop. We were given a Lincoln. It was huge (and ugly). The interior was cream leather. There were so many buttons, levers etc. All very confusing.
I managed to turn on my seat heater (!!!) without realizing what I had done. So we had the nice cooling air conditioner blowing away, but my rear end just got hotter and hotter. Finally when it was unbearably warm, I had to search through the manual to find out how to remedy the situation.
And driving on the wrong side of the road is scary. We had many terrifying moments.
ShoppingWell, Ive done lots of it.
Clothes really are much cheaper here.
Us girls, who hired the car, shopped all day yesterday.
It was brilliant.
I think my kids will be very pleased with my purchases.
FoodWe have certainly eaten out a lot.
In fact, that is all we have done!
And all we had heard is true. The serving sizes are huge!! I had a BLT sandwich for lunch today, and it came with a side serving of salad (good), and a pile of some unidentifiable meat in sauce (not good).
I have tried peanut butter and chocolate ice cream. Yum! It was one of my holiday goals.
I have eaten at Dukes (named after Duke Paoa Kahanamoku), a restaurant/bar on the beach that was extremely popular, judging by the amount of people in it. There was so much food served I felt slightly ill after. Last night we went to Roys (thanks for the tip Sean), another restaurant in Waikiki.
It was lovely. The food was just delicious. Below are some photos of our food, and of Deb & Ryan. I even had a peanut butter and chocolate dessert at Roys.
Debbie on the other had has eaten nothing but coconut flavoured treats since arriving. And Tim keeps ordering ribs. The BeachThe beach is perfect for me - no big surf, and the water is warm like a bath.
Tomorrow I want to get a lounge bed thingy and read my book in the sun. Mmmmm....

Well, that's all for now. I must check my emails before my time runs out.

5 comments:

Sounds and looks wonderful...You're off to a great start. I love hearing your perspective on the American (although not the mainland) culture. I'm surprised to hear that the clothes in Hawaii are inexpensive; I've heard that everything there is overpriced...I guess it's all perspective!!Can't wait to see/hear more!! Most of all, enjoy yourself!

It all sounds interesting. I'm not sure what the food was that you posted though. Here in the states we drive on the "right" side of the road.And just think...you are picking up the native Hawaiian language!